Assembly Bill 556 would rename Nevada's Medical Care Advisory Committee and create a separate Beneficiary Advisory Council under the Division of Healthcare Financing and Policy, proponents told the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services on May 20, 2025. Melinda Southard, deputy administrator for the division, said the changes respond to new federal requirements from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

"AB 556 revises provisions related to and renames the current Medical Care Advisory Committee, and it adds a new beneficiary advisory council," Southard said. She told the committee that the federal rule requires states to ensure at least 25% of committee membership are people with lived Medicaid experience and to provide financial assistance to support beneficiary participation.

The bill text cited by Southard would place the new beneficiary-engagement allowances in specific statutory sections for the advisory committees (section 6, subsection 6 and section 9, subsection 5, as described by the presenter). Southard said the changes reflect CMS direction that states both establish a Medicaid advisory committee and a distinct beneficiary advisory council and provide financial supports to enable meaningful participation by beneficiaries and direct caregivers.

Committee members asked no questions at the hearing, and no members of the public testified for, against, or in neutral at the committee hearing. No vote on AB 556 was recorded in this transcript; the matter was presented and left open for committee consideration.

Why it matters: the federal CMS direction is intended to increase consumer representation in state Medicaid advisory structures. The bill would change Nevada statute and administrative practice to create a separate venue specifically for beneficiary input and to authorize financial supports intended to remove barriers to participation.

Next steps: AB 556 was presented and taken under consideration by the committee; a formal committee amendment or a vote is not recorded in the provided transcript.